Keitaro's Hidden Abilities
by Urashima Keitaro
Summary: When Keitaro is forced to fight Seta in the play, what new abilities arise? chapter 3 up! R+R Please!
1. Keitaro's Hidden Abilities

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, none of the characters are mine, no matter how much I wish it were true, it's not, props to Ken Akamatsu for being the owner, though!  
  
A/N: Words in 's are thoughts  
  
Keitaro's Hidden Abilites?: DUEL FOR NARU!  
  
[Hinata Beach Play]  
  
Keitaro looked at Naru, she was looking back at him, then he nodded, "Master, I will protect you even if it means sacrificing my life!" Keitaro took up a fighting stance, holding his staff up horizontally  
  
Naru blushed slightly at his words, "Keitaro..." she knew it was a play, but she felt that this was different...that this was somehow deeper than just a little show for the kids, she felt as if this really was a fight to see who would take her.  
  
"Let's begin, Keitaro-kun...." said Seta, not even bothering to slide into a stance, they stood like that for a while, just looking at each other, standing off, everyone was in suspense, Motoko looked at Keitaro with some new respect, Kitsune smiled as her plan was working, Shinobu stood in stunned silence, her hand close to her mouth, even Su and Sara were wrapped up in the moment, staring wide-eyed.  
  
A rock fell from the small wall behind which Shinobu stood, as the rock hit the ground, it was like a signal for the match to begin, Seta charged Keitaro, who was doing the same to Seta, his staff down low, both hands on it, Naru's eyes followed Keitaro as he ran right past her.  
  
They reached each other, Keitaro bringing the staff up to Seta's side, he pushed it down and came around for a backhanded blow, only to be met by the hard bamboo of the staff, Keitaro pushed Seta's blow away with little difficulty, he used the momentum to spin and come around for a powerful blow to Seta's head, missing by mere inches as he ducked out of the way, attemtping to trip him.  
  
"Not bad, Keitaro-kun, no, Goku" said Seta as his leg connected with Keitaro's, succesfully tripping him, "But you're still no match for me."  
  
"Is that so?" Keitaro said, he used the momentum of his falling to go into a one handed flip to the side, he landed on his feet leaning towards Seta, he kicked off the ground and flew towards Seta, his staff raised high above his head, ready for a vicious downward stroke.  
  
Everyone was in awe of Keitaro's fighting ability, Motoko looked on wide eyed, Urashima, what technique are you using? I've never seen this before.. the young master swordswoman thought to herself, It shifts between very quick, weak attacks and slow, powerful attacks and continues to switch from entirely defensive, to heavily offensive  
  
Su looked on all wide eyed and amazed like Sara was, "Wooooow!! I didn't know Keitaro could fight like that!" exclaimed Su, Sara watched Keitaro and her papa fight, "That guy will never beat my papa!" The young blonde american exclaimed proudly, no one had beaten her papa before.  
  
The staff came down hard, Seta had blocked it with both arms crossed above his head, all watched in amazement as dust flew up in a ring around them from the hardness of the blow, Seta faltered under the intensity of the blow, but stood strong, Keitaro was above him, a look of pure determination in his eyes, then they jumped away from each other, Keitaro landing on one foot and then the other, holding his staff horizontolly behind his back and a flat palm out before him, Seta landed in his usual fighting stance, hands up, slightly cupped, a thin smile on his face.  
  
Naru looked with amazement at Keitaro, he wasn't even breathing hard, where did he learn to fight like that...and...if he could fight so well all the time, how come...how come he let me hit him so much? She wondered, she saw Seta falter under the blow of Keitaro, Wow...he's strong.. she knew, right then, right there, that this was a serious fight, Keitaro wouldn't hit so hard if he was just playing around, she remembered his words from earlier, "Master, I will defend you even if it means sacrificing my life!" he was fighting for her, it seemed, the thought of it made her blush furiously Keitaro...  
  
Kitsune looked on with glee, horror and amazement all at once. On one hand, her plan to bring Keitaro and Naru closer together worked, as Keitaro seemed to be fighting so hard, and what a fighter he turned out to be! On the other hand, she was worried for Seta, never in all her lifetime had she seen Seta struggle to keep something contained, usually he fought with an ease and fluidness.  
  
Haruka, for the first time ever in her adult life, dropped her cigarette as she watched her nephew duel with her former lover, Keitaro...when did you learn to fight like this? In all the years she had known Keitaro, never once had he hinted that he could fight so well. She had never seen Seta struggle with a fight before, and he didn't appear to be, but she could see it in his eyes, he was having a hard time with Keitaro Could it be that...?  
  
Once again the two fighters charged each other, Keitaro however, stopped half-way to Seta and jumped to the side, he kicked off the ground and flew at Seta from a new angle, anyone but Seta or Motoko would think this a senseless waste of time, but indeed it was a good tactic, it caused your opponent to have to adapt to a new circumstance, prepare for an attack from a new direction.  
  
Seta saw this and adapted instantaneously, turning to face him and raising his defence just in time to fend off three quick blows to, respectively, his head, knee and stomach and , he prepared for a blow to the back, because it was the most logical place to go next, "HA!" he only caught the second, much more powerful blow to his head because of the yell from Keitaro about to strike.  
  
Keitaro could see the suprise in Seta's eyes as he swept away his hard swing to the professors head, he could see that had he not yelled, he porbably would have hit him and probably would have won the battle, "I won't let you take Naruse--" he caught himself in mid-sentence "I mean Master Sanzou-houshi!" What the hell am I doing!? It's not like this is for real...it's not like I'm really fighting for Narusegawa...hold on a second...since when could I fight like this!?!?  
  
Seta smiled, "She will be mine Kei--no, Goku!" Damn! He's a lot better than I thought he would be...I can't even identify his form... thought Seta, he knows that we're fighting for Naru-chan...maybe this is..?  
  
Keitaro once again went into his series of quick jabs and heavy swings with the staff, driving Seta backwards, I don't understand, I never used to be able to fight before... the ronin thought to himself, it was as if he was doing it all subconsciously, not really aware of how his body was manipulating itself.  
  
Naru looked on with wide eyes, This is definately a real fight, but Seta seems to be losing, how did Keitaro get so good, so quick? Is it...because of me? Naru blushed at the thought of Keitaro coming to save her, drawing upon some hidden power to rescue her...little did she know, that was exactly what was going on.  
  
Haruka watched Keitaro drive Seta back with his varrying attack speeds and styles, Yes, it's as I thought, he's drawing upon his own hidden power, he could never do this on his own.. the middle aged woman turned her head to Naru, who was slightly blushing and looking at awe in the fight, She probably thinks that it's because of her that he's fighting like this.. Haruka closed her eyes and crossed her arms, she already knew the outcome of this fight, ...and she's right. She scoffed at the thought.  
  
Motoko watched Keitaro like she would watch a sensei in kendo school, studying his motions and attack methods, it was so...unpredictable, every time she thought she got the hang of what he was doing, he would do something different, and it varied, sometimes it was a vast change of attack strength and speed, but sometimes it was only so much as switching from right-handed attacks to left-handed attacks to two-handed attacks, or holding his staff in a different way, the whole technique was based on getting the opponent to spend as much energy adapting to different styles of attack as possible with exerting yourself as little as possible, it was truly a sight, espiecially from that weakling Keitaro. She heard a scoff and turned to see Haruka-san with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, as though the fight were already over, at this rate...it would be.  
  
The audience of children 'ohed' and 'awed' at the two people fighting furiously on stage, they were all young, so they couldn't see that this was an actual fight, they cheered loudly at the spectacular display.  
  
Keitaro just let his subconcious take over, going with the flow, he got used to the movements, and slowly, he started to consciously fight himself, starting to recognize certain patterns in Seta's movement, in his own, following them, it wasn't long before he became completely used to his own movements, understood them, he was now consciously fighting, and the change could be seen, they were subtle things, only things that a trained eye such as Motoko's or Seta's could see, light changes in his footing, his eyes actually following Seta's moves instead of keeping his eyes on Seta's face, a slight delay in judgement to quickly ponder the next move, all were noticed by Seta and Motoko, Haruka would notice as well if her eyes weren't closed.  
  
Shinobu looked on, she wasn't stupid, she knew this was for real, she looked at the fight worriedly, worried for both fighters, neither had landed a blow yet, but Seta looked like he was losing, he was backing up slowly, the young cook could see the sweat on his brow, while Keitaro had yet to show any signs of weariness, senpai.. she thought, wondering whether to be happy for Keitaro's newfound abilities or worry if they came at some price.  
  
Sara looked worriedly at her papa, "What's he doing? why is he losing?" she asked to no one in particular, no one had ever beaten her papa before, not even that crazy sword lady Motoko. Su watched in awe at Keitaro's skills, she was reminded of her big brother, he was always a good fighter, and they looked something alike, "Go Keitaro! Onii-chan! Show him what you're made of!" she said, submitting to the cheering of the crowd.  
  
Kitsune, continued to watch, not hearing or seeing anything but Keitaro and Seta fighting, had her plan backfired? Was this now an all out war between Keitaro and Seta for Naru? All she could do is watch in stunned silence as the two go at it at top speed.  
  
Seta, at this point, was very tired, but he saw that Keitaro had yet to break a sweat, Damn! At this rate I'm going to lose! The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning, yet it didn't show outside, he still had to fend against Keitaro's vicious attacks, then for a split second he saw the younger man glance to Naru, Yes! It's as I thought! He's fighting this way because Naru-chan is at stake! Haruka told me about this, she said something about Urashima's 'true power coming out when protecting a loved one...Well if that's the case...my first defeat will be glorious!  
  
They fought for another minute before Seta found an opening and took it,"Got you!" he yelled as, lightning fast, his fist found it's way to Keitaro's face, the force was enough to knock him backwards several yards, Seta stood there, his arm still out and hand still balled in a fist, breathing heavily, he took this moment to rest, he knew he was going to lose, but he wouldn't go without a good fight.  
  
"Keitaro!" yelled out Naru as she saw Keitaro get punched, she struggled against the chains that held her in vain, she turned to Kitsune, "Kitsune! get me down from this thing! Keitaro might be--" she was cut off as Kitsune just stared at the fight, and pointed, "Kitsune! are you listening to me!?" said an annoyed Naru, she was just starting to think of what she was going to do when she got down when she heard a loud 'crack!' coming from the battle field, she turned her head and gasped at what she saw.  
  
Keitaro had flown back several yards, he smiled in and spun in mid air, he launched himself at the still recooperating Seta and sent a blow to the side of his neck, Seta amazingly blocked it, Keitaro expected this and threw all of his strength into the blow, the bamboo staff broke where seta's arm had blocked it with a loud 'crack!', leaving the his long sleeve torn and a bruise already forming on his arm, some blood seeping through the beaten skin. Keitaro stopped what remained of the staff, a sharp bamboo spike, a mere milimeter from Seta's neck, smiling in triumph.  
  
Sara looked down, utterly and completely shocked, "Papa!!" was all she could manage.  
  
Motoko was wide-eyed, realising the implications of Urashima beating Seta and her not.  
  
Su rubbed her eyes to make sure she wan't just dreaming this all up.  
  
Shinobi did likewise, no matter how big of a crush she had on senpai, she never would've expected this  
  
For a few moments, everyone just kind of stared in complete and utter disbelief.  
  
Then the crowd exploded! Whistling and cheering, the Hinatasou residents could hardly believe their eyes, but still managed to applaud and yell out compliments, Haruka opened her eyes and smiled, wondering if Keitaro remembered any of the technique he used, It would certainly make him a bit more coordinated. thought Haruka.  
  
When the crowd had settled, and, more importantly, Keitaro and Seta remembered that they were in a play, Keitaro stepped back and Seta fell to one knee rather dramatically, "Bull Demon! You have been defeated! now release my master!" Seta looked to Kitsune and gave her a nod, then looked back up at Keitaro as Kitsune undid the chains, he whispered, "Very good, Keitaro-kun" then, in his louder, play voice "You'll never get away with this! I'll see you again Son Goku!!!" he yelled as Su, right on cue, activated the special effects, a swirling mist followed by a ring of fire, with an opening towards the rest of the hinata residents, he quickly ran to them, being careful not to be seen by the spectators.  
  
Keitaro threw aside the bamboo spike and went to Naru as the rest of the Seta's crew, Kitsune, Haruka and Sara, disappeared in a similar fashion, Naru pretended to be weak from hanging too long and fell into Keitaro's arms, he lifted her to her feet, Wow...normally he would've slipped or something...I guess the fight made him a bit more coordinated.. Naru thought to herself.  
  
Keitaro looked into Naru's eyes, they both stood there for a moment, Naru blushed a little, "Keitaro..." Kitsune was the one who prompted them, "The play! finish your lines!" that brought them both crashing back to reality, "Master Sanzou! Are you alright!?" said Keitaro, supporting Naru firmly, she nodded, "Just fine, thank you, Goku" she stood up and brushed herself off, hiding the furious blush she had on her cheeks, "So you're free now, you can go to wherever you want to.." said Naru.  
  
Keitaro shook his head, "No!" he said, "Master! I, Goku will continue to accompany you to Tenjiku" He paused for a bit, then added, smiling sweetly at her, "Can I be with you forever?" Naru, not missing a beat, said with the same kind of smile, "Of course! Let's keep going together!" said Naru, Su turned the knob to dim the lights they had built, but it wasn't working, after a few seconds, they heard the whispers of Kitsune, "The light isn't working! think of something!" Keitaro looked at Naru, and she looked back at him, not knowing what to do, then a child started chanting "Kiss...Kiss...Kiss...Kiss..." soon the entire crowd was chanting "Kiss...Kiss...Kiss...." Naru and Keitaro, not knowing what else to do, blushing furiously, wrapped their arms around each other and inched closer to each other.  
  
Suddenly the huge crater where Su had made a blast before started to rumble, throwing Naru and Keitaro apart, all the kids freaked out and began wailing, then a guyser of hot water sprung from the hole in the ground, it sprayed everyone with it's warm water, under the order of the Hinata girls, everyone evacuated before the place filled up with hot water.  
  
[By the Hinata Beach Tea House]  
  
Keitaro and Naru stood next to each other, watching the repairs of the Hinata Beach Tea House, Naru turned to Keitaro, "The play turned out to be a real success! there was enough money to repair the Tea House and pay our bills!" Keitaro smiled and turned to Naru "Yeah, and we turned out to be famous, just this morning I heard some kids talking about the fight scene with me and Seta."  
  
Naru smiled back, "That reminds me, Keitaro, since when did you ever fight like that! I mean, you almost broke Seta-san's arm!" she had remembered him saying that it was slightly fractured, unsuprisingly, her first reaction was anger at Keitaro, but Seta said that it wasn't his fault, so she calmed down, "Were you hiding this from us the whole time?" she said with a sly grin.  
  
Keitaro raised his hands up and put on his innocent face, "N-no!" he then calmed a bit and looked down, a small smile on his lips, "It's just...when I saw you there, chained to a rock, and said my name, something snapped...I don't really know what happened, but next thing I know I'm in the middle of the fight with Seta, I guess I fought so hard because somewhere deep inside, I was afraid I really was goind to lose you.." he shut his mouth and looked up at Naru, wide eyed, realising what he had been implying, Naru was standing there, blushing, much to his suprise.  
  
"Eh? Narusegawa?" Naru put on a smile, still blushing, and raised her head to look at him, she walked foreward being drawn closer, Keitaro felt the same pull and walked towards her, just then, Kitsune yelled out, "Naru! Keitaro! Way to go!" at this Naru turned around to face Kitsune, "No! It's not like that!" Naru started, "yeah! we weren't just about to do anything!" Keitaro helped her explain, but he was smiling inside, I guess some things will never change.. he thought.  
  
[Hinata Beach House Springs]  
  
Seta sat relazing in the public hot springs, Haruka not to far from him, "So it's true then, he's inherited the Urashima fighting skill?" he asked the woman, who now had her usual cigarette in her mouth, she nodded, "It seems so...usually only the woman inhereit it, but on some rare occassions where a male has been forced into a situation where he must not lose..." she let Seta figure out the obvious conclusion, "So what now?" Seta asked, "I don't know...we'll wait and see what becomes of him..." replied Haruka with a shrug.  
  
A/N: So whaddya think of my first fanfic? Like it? Don't like it? Should I make more chapters? Review please, give me your thoughts! 


	2. The Hina Blade: Keitaro Possessed!

A/N: Thank's everyone, I really didn't think this fanfic would be any good, and I do have to admit that it was the fanfic Keitaro the Fighter that sparked my interest in the concept of what would happen if Keitaro could fight, but in my opinion it was way too violent to be like Keitaro at all, I'm trying to keep him as much in character as possible. Arigatou, minna-san! (Thank you, everyone!) Oh yes, I must add that from now on I'm no longer following the anime, except for a few things, I feel that a lot of it wouldn't fit very well with Keitaro's new fighting skills.  
  
Oh yeah, words in ['s are places and speech in 's are thoughts! So without further ado, the second chapter, to Keitaro's Hidden Abilities!  
  
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The Hina Blade: Keitaro Posessed!  
  
[Hinata Inn]  
  
It had been a week since Keitaro had discovered his...abilities....and since then they had returned to Hinata-sou, and everything appeared to be getting to normal, except for the fact that Keitaro had stopped having his little accidents. Everyone was pleased at this, they all assumed that it was because of his new abilities. Everyone was completely shocked, most of all Naru, when they figured out from Haruka why he could fight so well.  
  
Naru sat in her room studying with Keitaro, she couldn't seem to concentrate as well as she normally could, she looked over at Keitaro who was working hard on a math problem, she sat there looking at him, images rushing into her head of when she had learned why Keitaro could beat Seta.  
  
~FLASHBACK~  
  
[Hinata Beach Tea House]  
  
Haruka sat at the end of the table, the residents of Hinata-sou crowded around, they all wanted to hear where Keitaro learned to fight so fast. Everyone was there except for Keitaro, who they sent to load up all their luggage into the van they used, Seta, who had gone on another one of his excavations, and Sara, who had gone with her papa.  
  
Haruka was sitting cross legged, her arms crossed and her lit cigarette protruding from her mouth, she would explain it to them as best as she could, "Whenever a person in the Urashima family feels that his or her life is threatened, they summon a hidden power to defend themselves, but they summon in unconsciously." said Haruka calmly.  
  
"That would explain why he could survive so many attacks from both Naru and Motoko without a scratch, but what does that have to do with his being able to fight well?" asked Kitsune curiously, she sat with a small glass of sake in one hand and her free arm slung over the back of the chair.  
  
"Well, whenever that same person is put into a situation where the dire need to fight arises, he or she subconsciously pumps all of that power into his physical ability, thus allowing them to fight at an unimaginable level of power," stated Haruka, still in her calm mood, she took a drag of her cigarette, "Usually the females in the family can harness this power and use it whenever they want with very long, strenuous training that most never take up, but the males tend to be clumsy and can't do so if they tried, however, if the need is dire enough, a male can aquire the power."  
  
"So you're saying that this is a one time happening?" Asked Motoko, she was still sore that Keitaro had beaten Seta and she had not. She had taken a seat opposite to Haruka, she was dressed in a red shirt with spaghetti straps and denim shorts, her sword as usual was right by her side.  
  
Haruka looked to Motoko, still calm as ever, "Usually, it would've been, but because Seta had held off against Keitaro for so long, he inadvertantly aquired the technique he was using, no one really knows why, but that technique is used whenever an Urashima calls upon their hidden power, it was so different from any other fighting style that it became known as the Urashima Fighting Style."  
  
Motoko looked down, So he can fight like that all the time... she thought to herself, she wanted to beat him very badly, she trained with twice the ferver she usually did, her only goal was to beat Urashima, no matter what.  
  
Haruka went on, taking another drag from her cigarette, "Of course, without harnessing the power he won't be able to fight with so much offensive might or as much stamina, but the fact remains that he knows a very dangerous technique that doesn't require a lot of stamina or even offensive might." Haruka remarked.  
  
Motoko's face brightened, So there is hope, I can still win! I just have to find some way past that technique! she had just begun to replay Keitaro's fight with Seta in her mind, but her thoughts were cut short.  
  
"Ano...Haruka-san?" asked the shy little Shinobu, she was the only one not seated. Haruka turned her head to the timid little 14 year old in acknowledgement, "Ano..you haven't explained what sort of 'dire need' suddenly made senpai fight like that..."  
  
Haruka smiled, she knew this question would come sooner or later, "Well, in Keitaro's case, it would be fear." they all looked at her questioningly, "Keitaro had to have believed that something, or someone very precious to him was going to be taken away from him, Keitaro's not the type who would fight for any other reason."  
  
At this everyone at the table, except for Haruka, who seemed to understand everything about Keitaro perfectly, looked to Naru, who had a slight blush on her face as she looked to the floor.  
  
~END FLASHBACK~  
  
So it was me, after all thought Naru, looking back down at her practice sheet, and starting to fill it in, Haruka said that the need for drawing on his power be dire, am I really that important to him? she soon lost herself in her thoughts.  
  
"Ano...Narusegawa?" asked Keitaro, finally tired of the math problem before him.  
  
But why would I be that important to him? Naru continued her thoughts, looking down at the practice test, he hand absently moving the pencil, filling in the answers.  
  
"Narusegawa?" asked Keitaro, a little annoyed that Naru was ignoring him.  
  
Maybe he loves me, maybe he wants to live happily ever after with me instead of the 'promised girl'! Naru thought hopefully.  
  
"Narusegawa..." Keitaro said again, getting very annoyed now, What is she thinking about?? he wondered, finally noticing the sort of blank look on Naru's face.  
  
No, the reason he's trying to get in to Toudai in the first place is because of that 'promised girl.' So why am I so important? And why am I getting so worked up about this? Naru thought, she had done well at hiding it, even from herself, but the truth was that she really liked Keitaro.  
  
"Hey! Narusegawa!" Keitaro finally exclaimed.  
  
That brought her crashing back down to reality, she looked up, a bit suprised and embarassed, traces of a blush on her face, "Huh? Oh! Um...yes?" she said, looking up.  
  
"Yare yare, Narusegawa, I think you've been studying too long, let's take a little break" suggested Keitaro, Naru put down her pencil and stretched out a bit, "Yeah, you're right, we've been studying for a good 3 hours now." she said, adjusting herself into a more comfortable position.  
  
Keitaro did the same, closing his math book. Just then, Shinobu walked through the door with a tray that held a bunch of cookies and two cups filled with juice, "Senpai, Naru-senpai, I brought some snacks!" she layed them down on the table after Naru and Keitaro cleared some of the books from it.  
  
"Perfect timing, Shinobu-chan, we just decided to take a break." said Keitaro, taking a cookie and biting a piece off, "Wow, Shinobu-chan, these are even better than usual!" he said after swallowing, he popped the rest into his mouth and chewed happily, Naru reached over and got on too, smiling and nodding in agreement with Keitaro as soon as she tried one.  
  
"You really think so? I was trying out a new recipe and I was wondering if it was any good.." said Shinobu, who was slightly blushing at the comment, which was normal whenever Keitaro complimented her cooking, "Yeah, this is really great!" said Naru, reaching for another, "Arigatou!" with that she walked happily out of the room.  
  
Naru took a sip of the juice, it was a commercial strawberry-kiwi juice, then looked at Keitaro, "Ne, Keitaro." she said casually, propping an elbow on the table and using her hand to support her head.  
  
Keitaro ate another cookie and looked to Naru, "Yes?" he asked.  
  
"Haruka told us that your...ano...abilities, that they came out when you were scared of losing something precious to you...I was just wondering what that something was?"Naru said, she had to hear it, she had to know if it was her all along for sure, or if there was something else.  
  
Keitaro nearly choked on his juice when he heard the question, no one had asked him about that yet, they didn't want to pry, besides, they all more or less knew what it was, "That? Oh, well....ano...that is to say..." he still felt nervous getting it out in the open, she looked seriously at him, with a look that just said 'Tell me.' "Well...." he looked at Naru nervously, Now would probably be a good time... "Well...I was afraid that I was going to lose....you.."  
  
Naru's eyes widened, So I was right.... "Keitaro...." she looked into his eyes, but then looked to the ground, "Why am I that important to you..?" Keitaro opened his mouth, but being in Hinata-sou an all, something was bound to happen, they heard a huge explosion from Keitaro's room, they both rushed to the hole to see a charred Su (A/N: no pun intended) lying on the ground next to the remains of a Mecha Tama, Keitaro's room had been blown to pieces, everything was a mess.  
  
"Su-chan! What was that?!" Naru yelled, already guessing the answer, Su got up and dusted herself off, "Well I sorta made a few miscalculations on my new Mecha Tama and it flew off, I grabbed it an it flew around for a bit before finally landing in Keitaro's room!" the little blonde-haired girl said, smiling like always, "Su-chan! You could've gotten hurt!" said Keitaro, as always, more concerned about others rather than himself, he sighed and shook his head, "yare yare...I'm gonna clean this mess up and Su, please try not to blow anything else up today..Narusegawa, you can go study without me" he said, beginning to sort through all the debris, "No, I think I'll help you clean up" said Naru, bending down next to him and also sorting through the debris.  
  
Later, Keitaro and Naru both sit sorting through the debris, while everyone else tend to the other damages throughout the house, it seemed that Su's invention not only totalled Keitaro's room, but also flew through Kitsune's room, Motoko's room and, of course, Su's room, Shinobu  
  
They had managed to find most of his belongings under the rubble, but his futon and kotatsu were completely destroyed, he would have to get new ones later.  
  
While cleaning, Keitaro's eye caught something odd looking, he lifted it out of the rubble, it was a sword inside a black sheath with a purple piece of cloth tied near the hilt, he examined it carefully, "funny...I don't remember having a sword..." he put his hand on the handle and was about to draw it when Naru noticed the sword, "What have you got there, Keitaro?"  
  
Keitaro let go of the handle and looked up to Naru, "It looks like a sword...but I don't remember ever owning a sword..." he felt a very strong urge to pull the sword from the saya, "Maybe the Mecha Tama Su made picked it up from Motoko's room" suggested Naru, "yeah, maybe, let's go check"  
  
Naru entered Motoko's room first, it was a mess, everything was out of place, scattered across the floor, but it wasn't all singed like Keitaro's room, "Motoko-chan, could we talk to you?" Mtoko was by her samurai armor set, putting it back in place, "Sure" she said, sitting on her mat, she saw Keitaro walk in behind Naru holding a sword, her eyes narrowed, something's not right about that sword...  
  
Keitaro didn't notice, however, "Motoko-chan, is this one of your swords? We thought that maybe Mecha Tama carried it into my room." he said, "It's not mine," she said, I sense something bad about that sword..  
  
Keitaro felt the urge to draw the blade again, he put his hand on the handle once more and wrapped his fingers around it, "maybe there's a name on the blade" he drew it partially, an immediately his eyes turned red and he began to grin and laugh like a maniac.  
  
Motoko stood up and tried to take the sword from Keitaro, but it was too late, he had drawn the sword entirely, she stopped and watched as Keitaro was surrounded by an aura swirling black energy, his eyes still red, he chuckled darkly, holding the sword in front of him like he would a staff, the blade protruding from the bottom of his fist instead of the top where his thumb was (Think how Naru held the sword when she got possessed.)  
  
Naru backed away, frightened, "Keitaro?" she tripped and landed on her bottom as Keitaro turned his menacing look to Naru, chuckling coldly, "Naru-senpai! The sword has taken control of him! get away!" Keitaro's head snapped to the new voice, as Motoko armed herself with her own Katana, Keitaro suddenly jumped up through the roof, landing gracefully on the tiling, Motoko hot on his heels, she had her Katana in her hand, unsheathed, she landed opposite Keitaro, they faced each other, Keitaro chuckling coldly, Motoko a look of determination on her face.  
  
I hope that his technique hasn't carried over... thought a worried Motoko, she had been planning on having a duel with Keitaro the whole time, but this was too early, she hadn't trained enough, and she wasn't quite finished examining his technique.  
  
Motoko and Keitaro stood like that for a good while, Keitaro must be fighting the demon...usually any demon would have attacked by now... thought the young swordswoman, by now Naru had found everyone and had told them what was happening, they all looked up to the top of the building from the hot springs, all had worried looks on their faces.  
  
Finally, demon Keitaro attacked, he flew at her at top speed, Motoko prepared for the attack, but then adjusted herself as Keitaro jumped to the right, and parried the blow from the dark blade, she felt every vibration of her own sword, Keitaro had pushed Motoko's sword down to the roof quickly, the momentum of her swing carrying the blade down to the roof, he flipped over her and swung the blade at her back with a quick slash, Motoko managed to block the blow and counter with a slash of her own, it was blocked and Keitaro jumped back, kicking off the ground he landed on to burst at her again.  
  
Everyone else watched as the two warriors fought, split between worrying for Keitaro's getting better or Motoko facing Keitaro with his abilities, as the two flew at each other, it was Su who piped up, "Motoko can't do this alone! come on everyone, let's help out!" Su yelled, pulling out a remote control, summoning a Mecha Tama, "Yeah, none of us are real martial arts experts, but we can help!" said Naru, punching her open palm hard.  
  
Motoko was having trouble keeping up with Keitaro and his ever changing technique, she could hardly get a blow in, let alone have enough time to use one of her Shinmeiiryu moves, all she could do was deflect the blows and try to counterattack before the next move, Keitaro brought his sword up, she blocked the blow and barely had time to raise her defense for the next which came from high above, How can he change the angle of his attack so quickly!!?? thought a frustrated Motoko.  
  
Soon everyone down below had their own forms of weapons ready, Su had her Mecha Tama, Naru was ready to do some punching, Kitsune was holding a sake bottle like a baseball bat, even Shinobu was holding up a frying pan with a determined look across her face, "If we go up there we'll get killed, Su, lure him down here!" said Kitsune, who had always been the best with planning, "Roger!" yelled Su as she flew Mecha Tama up to Keitaro and let loose a barrage of beams.  
  
Motoko finally saw an opening and took it, she smiled joyously as her sword sailed to his abdomen, his sword was up high, both hands on it, she was very suprised when he jumped up and used her blade like a spring board, vaulting into the air, he twisted and turned his body to dodge all of Mecha Tama's lasers as Motoko pried her sword from the roof, following him.  
  
By now Haruka had gone to expect the noises, she came in time to see her nephew twisting and dodging lasers, Motoko hot on his heels, she gasped as she saw the jet black blade in her nephew's hand, "It can't be...."  
  
Keitaro deflected the last laser harmlessly off into space with his sword, he landed crouched on one of the natural rock pillars protruding from the hot spring, Motoko landing adjacent to him in her usual fighting stance. He stood there on one knee, holding the sword in front of him in the same fashion as before, he took in the sight of the Hinata-sou girls and smiled, beginning to chuckle coldly, then he kicked off the rock high into the air, he flipped the sword and held it high above his head with both hands as he came down at the girls, Su shot at him with Mecha Tama, but he brougt the sword down on the beam, splitting the beam into two, Motoko was up next, she jumped at him and slashed, he parried, hooked the curve of the sword around her back and sent her flying into the hot springs.  
  
All the other girls were too stunned to do anything, Haruka ran to the girls as Keitaro landed right in front of Naru, but she knew she wouldn't make it, even if she summoned up all the powers within her, she began to shed tears, "No! Keitaro! STOP!" she yelled, hoping to reach him, but it was too late, she saw the blade coming down.  
  
Keitaro grinned at Naru and raised his sword to slash her, Naru closed her eyes, preparing for the blow so this is the end... she thought, when the slash didn't come, she opened her eyes to see the blade, shaking violently, about 3 inches from her face, she looked at Keitaro and for the smallest moment, saw Keitaro's real, determined eyes focusing on the sword, then his eyes went to red and he jumped back, landing on one of the stones in the hot spring, Motoko charged him and they began fighting again, soon Mecha Tama joined in to their fight, launching missles and laser beams, each either dodged or deflected by Keitaro.  
  
Naru had fallen backwards onto her bottom again, looking at Keitaro, he could've killed me...but he didn't.... thought Naru, her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest, "Naru!" came Haruka's voice as she knelt next to her, "Are you alright??" she asked worriedly, "Y-y-yeah, I-I-I'm a-alri-ight..." she managed to stutter, she was trembling horribly, He didn't kill her...he must be resisting the sword's influence...  
  
Keitaro blocked the blow that came in from his side and stabbed at her stomach, it was deflected to the side, he went into a spin slash to the side of her head, which was also blocked by her, Mecha Tama fired a missle, Keitaro jumped up, hearing the the propulsion of the rocket, he kicked down on the back end, sending it into the air, where it blew up after running out of fuel, Motoko took this chance to use one of her Shinmeiiryu techniques, "Shinmeiiryu Ougi! Air Splittting Sword!!" she said, slashing down, the ki wave travelling towards Keitaro fast, he responded by sending a wave of dark ki, which cancelled out the attack, he landed crouched in front of her and stabbed upwards at her throat, she managed to move aside before the blow made contact.  
  
Everyone watched in horror as Keitaro fought against Motoko, only Su could fight against him as well without the chance of getting killed, and that's only because she wasn't directly fighting, Haruka looked up grimly, "It's as I feared...the spirit inside the sword has possessed him..." she stated, keping her mood somehow calm, "Aaaauuuu! Senpai!" exclaimed a crying Shinobu, Kitsune just watched, "Wait a second...isn't that the sword that Grandma Hina hid from us?" she said, Haruka turned to her, "Yes, the Hina blade, it posesses the wielder to do it's will, she kept it hidden in the Kanrinin's room so that none of you would find it" she said with a hand on her hip.  
  
Su fired a barrage of missles at Keitaro, getting frustrated, Keitaro, equally annoyed at the flying turtle, knocked Motoko's sword aside and used the missles as stairs to get to the Mecha Tama, he jumped from the last missle and cleanly slashed through the turtle, the two halves exploded, the missles hit the water, exploding and soaking everyone, he landed on the edge of the Hotspring opposite the girls who had all ducked for cover.  
  
Motoko had been caught in the blast and was now getting up, using her sword for support there has to be a way to beat him.... suddenly her mind raced through their fight, then her eyes widened as he remembered how he had stopped himself from hitting Naru, Naru-senpai....he couldn't hit Naru-senpai!! she made a mad dash for the girls, who were also getting up, Keitaro saw her destination and dashed for it, trying to cut her off.  
  
Haruka got up an looked at Keitaro making a mad dash for them, she took up a defensive stance, taking twin daggers from the hidden sheaths under her apron, summoning her own power.  
  
Motoko managed to get their first and pulled Naru up, "Naru-senpai, he can't hit you!!" Naru looked up at Motoko, she remembered how Keitaro had stopped just before killing her, "You're right!" Motoko thought hard as Haruka defended against Keitaro, she hoped that Haruka had a lot of that Urashima power.  
  
Keitaro brought the sword down on Haruka, only to meet crossed daggers, she struggled to hold him there, suddenly he let off and sent a slash to her leg, Haruka brought a dagger down and defended against the blow, she raised a dagger to fend off the blow that was already heading toward her head, she pushed the Katana aside and made a slash of her own, making Keitaro jump back.  
  
Motoko could only think of one way to defeat Keitaro...but she wasn't sure she could do it...but it was the only way! "Naru-senpai! I need you to step in front of his blade, and distract him, if only for a moment!" Naru was about to protest, but she nodded, she knew that she was putting her life on the line, but she trusted Motoko, she ran out in between Haruka and and Keitaro, holding her arms out.  
  
Keitaro charged Haruka again, and stabbed foreward, but stopped as Naru stepped in the way, the sword began quivering as her walked foreward, Naru had a determined look on her face, "No! Naru! what are you doing?!" came Haruka's voice followed by everyone elses, "Naru! Don't!" came Kitsune's voice, "Think about this!!" yelled Su, "Aaaaauuuuu!!!" cried Shinobu, Motoko however, took this oppertunity well.  
  
Keitaro walked foreward, sword twitching, every step looked like it weighed a hundred pounds, "Keitaro! It's me, Narusegawa! Stop!" she said and ran towards him, the sword was vibrating violently, she reached him and threw her arms around him, "Keitaro come back!!" she yelled as the sword started to stop twitching as violently and his eyes started to return to normal, "N-N-Naru-se-ga-wa!!" he yelled, then his eyes became red again and the sword inched closer and closer to her back, she didn't let go, she refused to.  
  
"Shinmeiryuu Ougi...NI NO TACHI!!" yelled Motoko slashing through both of them, but not so much as scratching the flesh, the sword flew from Keitaro's hands and landed next to Motoko, who was crouched low, she fell to one knee as the technique took it's toll on her, both Keitaro and Naru were unconscious next to each other, Keitaro was the first to come out of it as everyone crowded around them, "Motoko did it!!" yelled Su, "Senpai!! Naru-Senpai!!" yelled Shinobu helping him up, Naru awoke by now and slowly got up, she felt a pair of hands helping her up and looked up to see Keitaro, the normal Keitaro, smiling at her, she couldn't help but smile back.  
  
Haruka walked over to Motoko and helped her up, Motoko looked at the sword, "I...did it..I sealed the sword..." she said, still somewhat weak, but she forced a smile, she was very happy at her accomplishments, Haruka smiled as well, helping her over to the others.  
  
Naru looked at Keitaro smiling, "Thanks..." Keitaro said to Naru as the others crowded around them yelling happily, he was then attacked by a overjoyed Su, "Keitaro! you had us worried! And you owe me a new Mecha Tama!" exclaimed the small blonde girl as she jumped up and hugged Keitaro "Hey! I wasn't the one who broke it, it was that demon thing in the sword! besides, you're always building a new Mecha Tama!" said Keitaro, smiling happily, "So what exactly happened, Keitaro?" asked Kitsune, eager to know the whole story Keitaro smiled, "Well..." then he launched into the story.  
  
Naru watched as everyone crowded around him and he smiled and luaghed with them, a gentle smile on her face, "You're welcome..." she said silently before joining in with everyone else, laughing, smiling and helping Keitaro with his story, Motoko even joined in, telling her side of the story, it was like the whole thing never happened, and it was just an exciting story.  
  
Haruka smiled at all of the Hinata-sou residents, she silently slipped away back to her own place, letting Naru, Keitaro and Motoko tell their stories, One thing's for sure... thought Haruka, It's definately going to get even more interesting with that boy... she looked up to the sky as she walked, I wonder what else is in store for him... she wondered as she walked back into her own place.  
  
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A/N: So how do you all like chapter 2? I was kind of out of it today, and wrote this chapter in about 5 hours, I don't think I did as good a job with the action scenes and personally, I think that this chapter was very boring, oh well, I'm the author, I think everything I write is scrap! What I really want is YOUR opininons! What did you think? Be honest... 


	3. Unbreakable Blades and Broken Arms

Sorry for taking so long on this, I just read the entire manga in the past three days (I managed to get all 14 volumes for free) anyway, I guess this is what you call...a filler chapter? It shouldn't be very interesting, I haven't gotten into the serious stuff yet, anyway, read and enjoy, and I apologize in advance if this chapter is boring.  
  
Oh, and please review when you're finished!, I LOVE reviews, good or bad, big or small, it lets me see how I'm doing, and if you give suggestions I just might use them! Feel free to e-mail me too, if you're not too keen on having your opinions open to the public.  
  
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Unbreakable Blades and Broken Arms  
  
[Hinata-sou]  
  
"So...what exactly are we going to do with it?" asked a curious Naru, her and the rest of the Hinata-sou residents were sitting cross legged in a circle, all of their eyes on the object in the center of their circle, the Hina Blade.  
  
It was that same blade sitting there, looking like any other normal katana, that had led to so much destruction the other day, all of the Hinata-sou residents sat, pondering what to do with the dark sword.   
  
"If we put it away again, we might forget about it, then someone may find it again later and who knows what would happen?" said Keitaro, the Kanrinin, or resident manager of Hinata-sou, it was this 20 year old ronin who had nearly murdered all of the other residents of Hinata-sou while under the possession of that wicked blade.  
  
"We could melt it down! I can make a new Mecha Tama out of it!!" yelled Su, as she bounced around the room, unable to sit still for long, despite her appearance of a normal 13 year old girl who's had too much sugar, she was really a mechanical genius.  
  
"That's hardly enough metal for you to make a new Mecha Tama, besides, what if it possesses the Mecha Tama!?" objected Naru, "we don't need a crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up!"  
  
"Urashima has a point, as does Naru-senpai, I have sealed the demon, so we don't have to worry about it possessing anyone now, but in the future the seal may be broken, and using the metal of such a blade as this probably would result in...how did you put it? 'A crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up.'" said Motoko, both of her eyes were closed and she was in her traditional clothing today, "Although melting it down is a good idea...."  
  
"You can't melt it down." said Haruka as calm as can be, her arms crossed, her eyes closed and an unlit cigarette haning from the corner of her mouth, everyone looked at her.  
  
"Ano...Haruka-san, what do you mean we can't melt it down?" a small, shy voice asked before anyone else could overreact and ask the same question with more vehemance.  
  
"I mean exactly that, you can't melt it down...the blade is indestructable..." stated Haruka, still calm as ever, all the other, however, cfreaked out at this.  
  
"EHH!?!? INDESTRUCTABLE!?" they all said at once, crowding around the woman, who nodded calmly, "It's been passed down through the Urashima family for generations, it couldn't be completely sealed, however, but a strong person, both physically and mentally could wield it without fear of being possessed."  
  
Keitaro's head drooped, No wonder it possessed me... he thought to himself grimly, no one noticed this, though as they were all looking at Haruka, who had yet to open her eyes or even unfold her arms.  
  
"The blade can't be indestructable!" protested Motoko, picking up the dark blade, "Su, start warming up your furnace!" she said, Su rushed out of the room, "Roger!" everyone was hot on her heels, everyone except for Haruka, the woman sighed and stood up, "Those kids...I swear..." she then proceeded to follow at her own pace.  
  
Su was next to a huge furnace in the corner of her room, why she kept it there, no one knew, Kaolla Su had always been a mystery to the Hinata-sou residents for a long time and they have long since stopped trying to figure her out.  
  
The furnace was a blaze and Su stood next to it, "Behold! My Mega Dragons Breath Furnace!!" exclaimed Su proudly, then she took a spare wrench and tossed it into the open furnace door, it melted before it fell, everyone in the room could feel the heat of the flames, no matter how far back they stood, the young mechanical expert held up a pair of ordinary looking tongs.  
  
"These are the only things that can go in there without melting, but even then for only about a minute before it starts to melt!" Su took out a pair of thick gloves and put on a heavy duty welding mask, she let Motoko place the sword in the tongs.  
  
"Will this work?" asked Naru, who was standing far from the furnace, it was deathly hot, "That thing could probably burn through metal from NASA, of course it will work!" said Keitaro who was standing next to her.  
  
Haruka walked in then and immediately fanned herself as she felt the heat, she went and stood next to Motoko, who was halfway across the room, closest to the furnace accept for Su, who was wearing some sort of protection suit.  
  
Su placed the sword into the furnace and shut the door, so everyone could cool off a bit before they got the sword, "How long should I leave it in there?" she asked, directing the question to no one in particular.  
  
Haruka was the first to answer, "overnight...so you can see for yourself that it is indeed, indestructable." Su looked to Haruka, "I would, but due to the fact that it's so hot, it would melt down, I can leave it in there for about an hour, any more and the furnace will melt down."  
  
Haruka nodded and proceeded to exit the room, "Then I'll be back in an hour." she said simply, walking away, everyone watched her go, she seemed quite confident that the infernal thing was indestructable.  
  
"Ano...senpai...what are we going to do if it really IS indestructable?" Shinobu asked, Keitaro turned to her and scratched the back of his head, "Well...Aunt Haruka--" he was quickly cut off as the door swung open, "It's Haruka!!" yelled Haruka to her nephew, before smacking him upside the head, "Aunt Haruka makes me sound old.." she stated simply, Keitaro rubbed his head "Well...you said that if you were strong, you could control the demon..." he turned to Motoko, "Motoko-chan, maybe you could use the sword? I mean you're a strong warrior, and you DID seal it off in the first place...it only makes sense that you'd be able to hold it in place."  
  
"Hmph! That infernal sword? I have no doubt that I could hold it, but I don't want some demon sword!" protested Motoko, "Then why don't you train Keitaro until he's strong enough to use it himself?" said Haruka, everyone nodded in agreement at this plan.  
  
"Yeah Motoko, you could train him, and he'll be an even better fighter!" said Kitsune  
  
"And maybe he could spar with you, to hone your skills" added Haruka  
  
"B-but the Shinmeiryuu training ways are a closely gaurded secret!" protested Motoko once more, "You don't have to teach him the Shinmeiryuu, just basic fighting skills, it doesn't even need to be with a sword, it's just to give him the experience and strength he needs to use the Hina Blade." Said Haruka.  
  
"Hey, I'll be a good student! and you've always said what a weakling I am, so this is a chance to change that!" added in Keitaro.  
  
Motoko nodded and sighed, "Yes, I suppose you're right, you could use a little training to hone that technique of yours.." Haruka nodded, "But you'll have to carry the Hina Blade while Keitaro trains, it's protector in a way, you're the only one strong enoough." the older lady stated.  
  
"But what about you? Weren't you the one that held off Keitaro while I explained my plan to Naru?" Motoko asked, not wanting a demon sword at all, it would put shame to her name and heritage, the Shinmeiryuu was designed to destroy and seal demons, not use them.  
  
Haruka gave a smile, "That's only because I know the technique, I can concentrate my power as an Urashima to some degree, but I've gone through little training, I don't have enough experience to wield such a thing...and I'm a little old for training anymore."  
  
Everyone in the room stared at Haruka like she was on drugs, she had never...EVER, admitted that she was too old for anything, "What? It's true." she said calmly, Motoko grumbled a "fine" as Haruka walked away, stopping at the door "then it's settled, you'll be the gaurdian of the sword until Keitaro is skilled enough to use it" she stated then walked out, closing the door behind her.  
  
Later, everyone decided to relax a bit until the furnace was done doing it's work, everyone, that is, except for Naru and Keitaro, who were both in Naru's room, studying dilligently, they hadn't said a word to each other since they began studying, but they were hardly getting anything done, it was summer, they didn't really need to study at all, "Ne, Narusegawa?" asked Keitaro, closing his book, "Hm?" she looked up from the work she was doing.  
  
"I never really got a chance to properly thank you for stopping me..." he scratched the back of his head, she closed her book, "It really isn't me you should thank, Motoko did all the work." she said simply.  
  
"Yeah...I suppose so...but you were a crucial part, if you didn't do what you did, I probably would have ended up killing everyone at Hinata-sou, Motoko told me that she didn't know how much longer she could have held off." he said, he stretched out, his muscles somewhat sore from sitting in one position for too long.  
  
"Ne, that reminds me," said Naru, "Why could you attack everyone else, but not me? I mean, I'm sure you were fighting not to harm anyone at all, but you fought for me the hardest...how come?"  
  
He looked suprised at this question and chuckled nervously, "Well uh.." he looked down to the floor, his hand on the back of his head, his eyes turned from cheerful to serious, "I umm..just couldn't imagine life without you.." it was her turn to be suprised, "Keitaro.." he looked back up at her, his eyes soft, "Narusegawa....I...I..."  
  
Naru's eyes betrayed that she was touched at his words, she prepared herself for his words, knowing what he would say, knowing what she would say back.  
  
"Keitaro!! Naru!!" came Su's voice as she burst through the door, completely ruining the mood, the two blushed and looked away from each other He...he was about to... thought Naru, That's Hinata-sou for you... thought Keitaro "Come on, Keitaro, Naru, let's go! The furnace is done with the sword!" yelled Su excitedly, he grabbed them and pulled them both to their feet and dragged them over to her room.  
  
Everyone was already gathered in Su's room, most didn't expect to see the sword after it had been in the furnace that long, Su go her tongs and turned off the furnace, she opened the door using the heay duty gloves and pulled out a fully in tact sword, everyone gasped, somewhat suprised, they were even more suprised when Haruka went over to the sword and picked it up by the blade, pinching the two flat sides with her thumb and fore finger, "just as I thought...not even warm..." she said as she took the saya she brought with her and sheathed the sword, handing it to Motoko, "Here you go, gaurdian, keep it in good hands" the older woman said and left, everyone just looked at the sword, shocked.  
  
~1 Week Later~  
  
The Hinata house shuddered violently as the wave of ki shot past Keitaro and into the side of the building, Motoko was panting, holding the wooden training sword up, ready to attack again, Keitaro stood across from her, only 10 feet away, also panting in a fighting stance, bare handed.  
  
"Why you insist on not using a weapon, I'll never know, Urashima, I told you this was a not a training session, but a duel, yet you still don't take the wooden sword I offered." said Motoko as she regained her breath quickly, "Well, I've lost my tastes for swords after that experience with the Hina Blade" said Keitaro in response, he then ran towards Motoko, already expecting some sort of Ki attack and planning to dodge.  
  
Motoko raised her sword high over her haid, and gathered her Ki, "Shinmeiryuu, ZANGANKEN!" she brought the sword down, time seemed to slow down as the wooden blade came down, Keitaro, smiling, would dodge aside at the last moment, but his plan came to a brief hault as he heard a door slide open behind him and then a voice, "Are you two at it AGAIN!? Yare yare, if you don't quit soon the whole building will be destroyed!" exclaimed Naru.  
  
Motoko couldn't hear her over the rush of ki as her sword came down, time itself seemed to stop as Keitaro thought quickly I can dodge it, but then it'll hit Narusegawa, if I turn to save Narusegawa the ki blast will only seriously hurt us both, Motoko's not kidding around, so...yes, there's only one way! time resumed, Keitaro, instead of dodging like he planned, brought up his right arm to block the downcoming sword, something totally unexpected.  
  
Pain...it coursed through his arm as the wooden sword broke against it, then came the ki, it wasn't quite as powerful as he had interfered with the completion, but it was still powerful enough to be deadly, he summoned up his defensive power subconsciously, that's all that kept his arm...somewhat intact, the blast of ki made his arm shoot back, there was a pop as his shoulder dislocated, then it was over, Keitaro's arm was hanging limply, he was screaming in pain, his arm mangled, Motoko had managed to hit him hard enough with the wooden sword to draw blood.  
  
"Keitaro!" came Naru's voice as she rushed over to the wounded man, Motoko looked at him, stunned, she looked up at Naru, and, being the warrior that she was, saw why he had blocked the sword, the Keitaro fell backwards, passing out from the massive pain, the last thing he saw before darkness took him was a worried Naru, "Keitaro! Keitaro!!"  
  
[Hospital]  
  
Keitaro opened his eyes groggily, he saw Naru leaning over him, smiling, she turned around, "Hey guys, he's coming around!"  
  
Keitaro tried to get up, but felt a stabbing pain in his right arm, he closed his ees and grit his teeth, a pair of hands gently pushed him back down, "Now Keitaro, you're hurt, don't try to move for a bit, okay?" Naru's voice came again, he opened his eyes again to see Naru sitting on the edge of his bed, all the others were crowded at the foot of his bed, "Uhhnn....where am I?" he said, looking around, "The Hospital." said Naru.  
  
"The doctor said your arm was broken in about 14 places!" piped up Su, who held up a wrench, "But don't you worry, I can fix anything that's broken!" and started to approach Keitaro who had a look of pure horror on his face, as did Shinobu.  
  
The others, thankfully came to his rescue and held Su back, "Su! You don't fix an arm with a wrench!" exclaimed Kitsune, taking it from her.  
  
"Ara ara, Kei-kun, what happened to you?" came a very familiar voice, Keitaro turned to the voice, as did everyone else, she was standing next to the bed, opposite Naru, "Mutsumi?? How did you get there?" asked everyone, they didn't hear her come in at all, she looked up in thought "Ano...how DID I get in here?" she said as everyone else fell over.  
  
Naru got up and put a hand behind her head, "I guess that's not very important, now is it?" she said, everyone else got up, "So what DID happen, Keitaro?" asked Kitsune, he was about to say something when Motoko said something, "He made a rash choice and decided to block instead of dodge." she said simply, Keitaro looked at her, "Rash...you try thinking something up in a quarter second" he said, somewhat angry at being called rash, "You could have stood your ground and took the attack full on, you would have survived, and with much less injury, if any at all." the young swordsmaster.  
  
"Yeah...but the residual Ki still would have hit Naru, and if I absorbed all of the attack I would probably be a lot more seriously injured than this." Keitaro argued his point, everyone looked at him with new respect, he never used to stand up for himself, "So I took the full blow to the arm instead, besides, I was only 10 feet from you and running, I couldn't stop for long enough to prepare a defense."  
  
"A conscious one, anyway, you forget that you still have that hidden power of yours, that keeps you alive and well even after the most brutal beatings." Said Motoko, crossing her arms, "The fact remains that what you did was rash," she continued, then, in a softer tone, "but I still admire how you would do that to protect others."  
  
Keitaro looked away blushing a bit at this comment, Motoko had never ever complimented him out loud, even after he had gained his abilities as a fighter, "Keitaro, you still didn't tell us exactly what happened." Kitsune said, "Yeah, tell us!" said Su, springing next to Naru, they all crowded around him as he told them what happened, by the end of the story, Naru was blushing again, "You know, you didn't have to do that.." she said, looking to the ground, "I don't think you've felt the full force of one of Motoko's attacks, it was either you'd end up lieing here, or I would, I chose me." Keitaro said simply, causing her to go even more red.  
  
"Come on everyone, let Keitaro get his rest" Haruka's voice came from the door, "The Doctor says he can come home tomorrow." everyone agreed and said their goodbyes to Keitaro, and wished him well, then left one by one, Naru was the last to leave, "Ne, Keitaro...thanks..." she said before rushing out of the room, he just smiled and relaxed.  
  
~Later That Night~  
  
Keitaro tossed and turned, he couldn't sleep at all, "CHIGAU!!!" (NO!!!) he screamed as he sat up, at once pain shot through his arm and he groaned, he reached over for a glass of water and his glasses, the nurse had left him a cup and a pitcher of water, there was no bedpan, as his legs were just fine, he could walk to the nearby bathroom.   
  
Keitaro sighed, he dreamt about being possessed by that blade again, he could still remember it, the slight resistance of the sword passing through Naru's body, her beautiful head looking up at him, her eyes full of tears, asking "Why, Keitaro?" it was like she didn't know that he was possessed, CHIGAU!! NARUSEGAWA!! THE BLADE! IT POSSESSED ME!! she would nod and look back up painfully at him, like she could read his thoughts, "But why...weren't you stronger...why couldn't you fight it? I thought you...loved me..." with that her body fell limp, then he woke up.  
  
Keitaro let tears stream down his face as he drank his water, he shuddered violently at the memory, spilling some water, he really did have a phobia of swords now, he had been having that dream ever since he was possessed by the Hina Blade, I don't want the stupid sword! I don't want it! I won't take it!! I don't care if it's an heirloom!!!! I don't want my nightmare to come true...Narusegawa... he thought to himself, he put his glasses back on the table and finished up the water, placing the glass on the table as well.  
  
He lied on his bed, he could sleep now, he knew the dream wouldn't come back, it was always like this, he dreamt that horrible nightmare up once a night, then drifted off to sleep again What does it mean... he thought, Maybe I'm just paranoid, that's all...but still...I know, I'll go talk to Motoko, she's the expert on this kind of stuff... he thought long about what he would say about Motoko, and eventually drifted off to sleep.  
  
~Next Day~  
  
[Hinata-sou]  
  
"I'm back!" Keitaro said, coming through the door, he found the house empty, "I wonder where everyone is..." he said, looking around the house, no one seemed to be home. Finally he just shrugged and went to his room, figuring that they went shopping or something.  
  
Keitaro opened the door to his room and nearly fell over from shock, "WELCOME HOME, KEITARO!!!!" everyone yelled at the top of their lungs, Naru was hanging upside down from the hole in the cieling, as was Su, everyone else had jumped out from various places like his closet, Shinobu popped up behind him, holding a tray of food.  
  
"To celebrate the home coming of Keitaro, let's party!!" yelled Kitsune, followed by joyous yells from everyone, Su and Naru jumped down from the hole and landed with a thump, "Welcome back Keitaro!" she said once again, smiling.  
  
Keitaro, once recovering from the initial shock and smiled, (cue anime tears) "Wow, thanks so much, everyone, this really means a lot to me." he said, he then walked ovver to the 4 tables pushed together in the center of the room, "Well come on! Let's party!" he said as Shinobu put down the food, there was fun and laughter and drinking and games the entire night long.  
  
Keitaro looked at the joy around him, it was good to be back but... I still have to ask Motoko about that dream...oh, I'll do it tomorrow, no need to make all this joy and hapiness go away he thought as he saw Kitsune sway around, having already chugged 3 bottles of sake, might as well enjoy the party while I can, I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what Motoko's going to say tomorrow he thought before returning to the present and partying with the rest of his friends.  
  
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A/N: As I said before, this is a filler chapter, there isn't much here, I'm sorry if you all are dissapointed, but I had a case of minor writers block and...yeah...anyway, please review, even for fillers I want reviews! I love reviews! 


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